Pickensville

James P. Kaetz, Auburn University
Pickensville is located in western Pickens County in the west-central part of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government.
History
Pickensville is the oldest town in Pickens County, with a post office established in 1823. The town was named as the county seat even before the county incorporated in 1825. It lost its designation as county seat in 1830 to Carrollton.
Tom Bevill Visitor Center and Museum
When the steamboat became a major method of travel on Alabama rivers, Pickensville became a major steamboat port. Among other goods, the Pickensville port shipped cotton to Mobile for sale. During its economic peak, the town had numerous businesses, including two hotels to accommodate steamboat passengers and crews, five newspapers, five attorneys, and four doctors. During the Civil War, federal forces under the command of Gen. John T. Croxton burned several buildings in town, including the courthouse. The decline of the steamboat era led to a corresponding decline in Pickensville's economy.
Demographics
According to 2020 Census estimates, Pickensville recorded a population of 985. Of that number, 66.9 percent of respondents identified themselves as African American and 33.1 percent as white. The town's median household income was $29,531, and the per capita income was $26,338.
Employment
According to 2020 Census estimates, the workforce in Pickensville was divided among the following industrial categories:
  • Educational services, and health care and social assistance (26.8 percent)
  • Retail trade (24.5 percent)
  • Manufacturing (20.5 percent)
  • Transportation and warehousing and utilities (13.3 percent)
  • Other services, except public administration (4.9 percent)
  • Professional, scientific, management, and administrative and waste management services (2.6 percent)
  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extractive (2.0 percent)
  • Arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services (2.0 percent)
  • Public administration (1.7 percent)
  • Wholesale trade (1.2 percent)
  • Construction (0.6 percent)
Education
Students in Pickensville attend Pickens County schools; no public schools are located within the town limits.
Transportation
State Highway 14 bisects Pickensville running north-south, and State Highway 86 runs east-west through the center of town.
Events and Places of Interest
U.S. Snagboat Montgomery
Pickensville is located on Aliceville Lake, which offers numerous water-related recreational opportunities. The Tom Bevill Lock and Dam Visitor Center serves as the main visitor center for the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. An authentic reproduction of a mid-nineteenth century plantation home contains displays related to the history and development of the Tombigbee River and Waterway. The U.S. Snagboat Montgomery, a steam-driven sternwheeler designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, is moored by the river near the center.
The Pickensville Methodist Church and the Pickensville Rosenwald School are listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Additional Resources

Clanahan, James F. The History of Pickens County, Alabama, 1540-1920. Carrollton, Ala.: Clanahan Publication, 1964.
Pickens County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Pickens County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 1999.
Published:  August 12, 2013   |   Last updated:  February 15, 2023